Background

MedStar Mobile Healthcare is the exclusive emergency and non-emergency mobile healthcare provider to Fort Worth and 14 other Tarrant County cities. Established in 1986, MedStar provides advanced life support ambulance service to 421 square miles and more than 880,000 residents in Tarrant County, Texas. MedStar responds to about 112,000 calls a year with a fleet of 54 ambulances. MedStar maintains accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services. In fact, its 9-1-1 Call Center is an Accredited Center of Excellence through the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch.

Impetus

Like every other firm in America, MedStar was challenged to provide comprehensive education and training to its employees, teaching the rules and regulations regarding sexual harassment, how to avoid it and how to report incidents. This subject is of particular interest in a business where men and women routinely work for 12 and even 24 hours together in close proximity and under highly stressful situations. In fact, the company documented several incidents immediately preceding Avatar’s engagement with MedStar.

Solution

Avatar created a custom-branded curriculum, employing a blended approach to adult learning. The curriculum featured a self-directed on-line course (to achieve cognition), followed by interactive participatory workshops (to achieve behavioral change). The curriculum was based on MedStar’s policies, procedures and processes and consisted of various types of media. These included custom video, featuring MedStar employees together with professional actors, on-line courseware and classroom materials such as facilitator and participant guides.

Specific situational vignettes portrayed inappropriate behavior, each followed by group discussions and breakout sessions. Case studies and group exercises provided an engaging, interactive learning experience and led to a high level of content integration. Lastly, knowledge mastery was verified through an on-line comprehensive final exam.

Results

Test results were consistently in the high 90’s. (cognition). Consequently, the reaction by participants and MedStar leadership was very positive (affective). Most importantly, the company has not suffered from a single claim of harassment since the roll-out of this course (behavioral).

Avatar Management Services, Inc. provides solutions to the human performance challenges facing business, industry and government organizations. Our services embrace every aspect of organizational development. We deliver value to our clients by systematically developing strategies which lead to improved individual, group and organizational work performance, and thus greater profitability. We are the #1 provider of Recruitment Tools, Employee Hiring Systems, Safety Training Videos, and HR Programs to the transportation industry.